Hill Timothy was located in the Hiệp Đức District of Quảng Nam Province in South Vietnam. The Battle of Hill 488 took place on June 15–16, 1966, and the Americans won the battle.
160 Years ago today, The Confederate Capitol moved from Montgomery, AL, to Richmond, VA. If it had stayed in Montgomery, the building would likely have been destroyed by the North. So, as I like to say, we're glad they visited, but are even more glad they left, saving our fine capitol building.
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| The current capitol look 2025 |
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| The Montgomery Capitol in 1886 | |
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| The Confederate Capitol in Richmond, VA. |
Source: Maersk/SeaLand.
On April 26th, 1956, the Ideal-X left the Port of Newark, New Jersey, to the Port Houston, Texas, which was called 5 days later. It carried 58 35-feet (8 feet wide by 8 feet high) containers, along with a regular load of 15,000 tons of bulk petroleum. The 35 feet unit represented at that time the standard truck size in the United States. This first containership was converted under the initiative of Malcolm McLean (1914-2001), a trucking magnate who saw the tremendous potential of containerization, particularly in terms of loading and unloading costs. McLean calculated that in 1956 loading a medium-sized ship the conventional way was costing $5.83 a ton. Comparatively, loading the Ideal-X would cost less than $0.16 a ton. The economic advantages of such a mode of transportation thus became clear to the shipping industry.
The initial goal of McLean was to create an integrated transport system in the United States where coastal shipping would complement road and rail transportation. This goal was difficult to achieve because of the segmented nature of the industry. Further, the development of the Interstate Highway System in the United States during the 1960s improved the efficiency of trucking considerably.
In 1960, McLean founded SeaLand, a major container shipping line, which was purchased in 1999 by Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company. The Ideal X carried containers until 1965 when it was scrapped.
Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) on the grounds of the Alabama State Capitol Building, Montgomery, Alabama.
It was planted in a ceremony on 19 April 1976, it is marked by a marble plaque and located next to the statue
of (Gov. Albert Patterson. The tree is located at 32 deg 22.651 min N, 86 deg 18.050 min W
News Release, Montgomery, Alabama, April 19, 1976
A loblolly pine seedling from the very same seeds that journeyed to the
moon and back with the Apollo 14 flight in 1971 was presented to Governor
George C. Wallace by the Alabama Forestry Commission and the U.S. Forest
Service in a special ceremony at the Governor's Office today.
The moon tree will be planted on the lawn of the State Capitol as a
permanent reminder of man's flight into space and its relationship to the
forests of America.
C.W. Moody, State Forester for Alabama, expressed his pleasure at having
the moon tree presented here as a part of the Bicentennial observance.
He said it symbolizes the major role forests have played in developing
our American Heritage and the vital role forests have in our future.
On January 31, 1971, Apollo 14 lifted gracefully from its launch pad
towards the moon. On board were those forest trees. They were nestled
in a tiny container close to Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa.
The Monday ceremony at the Capitol coincided with the signing of a
proclamation by the Governor, designating the week of May 16-22, as
Forest Conservation and Recreation Week in Alabama, leading to the 2nd
annual Alabama Forest Festival, scheduled for May 21-22 in Montgomery.
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https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_trees/montgomery_al_tree.html
As of 04/24, the Moon Tree on the Alabama Capitol grounds is the only survivor of almost a dozen "Moon Trees"planted in Alabama.
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| Exchange Hotel/Confederate HQ |
3rd Anniversary of the death of my friend, Gary Bridge.
You're missed, Gary!
As reported late in 2024:
Al.com reports that Retirement Systems of Alabama CEO David Bronner
said the a portion of the project had to be rebid, causing a delay of
about four to six months....which would be...just about now.
“My goal originally was I was going to be done in ’25,” Bronner said. “But now it’s going to roll over into 2026, probably the first four to six months,” Bronner said.
The Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), which has built multiple office buildings inside and outside of Alabama, is constructing the new facility for the Alabama Legislature. The new statehouse will be leased back to the Alabama Legislature.
The National Baptist Convention included the largest number of college graduates among historically Black Protestants with 24%. About 10% of Church of God in Christ members had college degrees.
The survey also showed that Americans who say they’re religiously unaffiliated is growing, while Christianity is declining.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was skewered on social media over a report his agency banned media photographers from recent Iran war briefings because they took “unflattering” pictures of him.
Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee also called it “a lie” that diverse groups of people can respectfully engage with each other.
165 Years ago today at 3:30PM, The First confederate flag (The Stars and Bars) is raised on the Alabama Capitol building .
The monument completed.
On the north side of Capitol Hill there is a monument dedicated to Alabama's more than 122,000 Confederate veterans of the Civil War, known as the Confederate Memorial Monument. The 88-foot tall monument was dedicated on December 7, 1898, (126 years ago) although it had been planned as early as November 1865.
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| This photo shows the monument with the confederate flags (later removed). |
For U.S. states observing CST (those entirely within are Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin), here’s when the total lunar eclipse will take place:
Moonset during partial eclipse.
(Suggestion: let's allow Montgomery voters to decide the police staffing at Pike Road first?)
A bill that could put state officials in charge of police staffing in Montgomery is expected to reach the Alabama Senate floor next week.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road), would allow the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to step in if class C municipalities fail to meet minimum police staffing levels. That would apply to Montgomery and Huntsville.
“The Montgomery Police Department, the men and women that serve there do an awesome job buy and large, and I’m grateful that they are there,” Barfoot told Action 8 News. “But it makes it a lot more difficult for them to combat crime and do what they’re supposed to do if they’re at a staffing level that is less than what they need to be at.”
Montgomery has a population of just over 200,000 people, according to 2020 census. Barfoot says the city needs two officers per 1,000 people to police effectively.
from a NY Times editorial
"...a decision made by one man with no legal basis, little public support and no coherent explanation of an endgame."
Supporters say it’s needed to address staffing shortages, while critics argue it threatens local control.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road), would allow the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to step in if class C municipalities fail to meet minimum police staffing levels. That would apply to Montgomery and Huntsville.
“The Montgomery Police Department, the men and women that serve there do an awesome job buy and large, and I’m grateful that they are there,” Barfoot told Action 8 News. “But it makes it a lot more difficult for them to combat crime and do what they’re supposed to do if they’re at a staffing level that is less than what they need to be at.”
Montgomery has a population of just over 200,000 people, according to 2020 census. Barfoot says the city needs two officers per 1,000 people to police effectively.
“400 is the minimum that Montgomery needs for these police officers to be effective in their job. That’s not a random number. It wasn’t just picked from the air, that’s from the City of Montgomery Police Department’s former interim police chief,” Barfoot said.
The Montgomery Police Department has not publicly released its current staffing numbers, citing safety concerns. Barfoot says credible sources tell him the department has between 220 and 230 officers — about 40% fewer than the recommended minimum.
According to the bill, Montgomery would be required to increase its net number of officers by 10% each year. If the city fails to meet those benchmarks over a five-year period, ALEA could step in, develop an operational plan and contract with other law enforcement agencies to help patrol the city.
Barfoot said the city would have to reimburse the state or other agencies for the expenses they incur in helping the police department.
He says the city already budgets for enough officers and would not need to raise taxes to comply with the requirements of the bill.
But Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed strongly opposes the bill. In a statement, Reed says recruiting and retaining officers is a challenge nationwide.
“Recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers is a challenge facing cities across Alabama and the nation. SB 298 imposes a one-size-fits-all staffing mandate and authorizes state operational control if that threshold is not met. That is a significant change to how public safety is governed at the local level, and we have serious concerns about its impact on municipal accountability,” Reed said.
Barfoot says the state has the authority and responsibility to intervene.
“All municipalities, the 400 and some odd municipalities throughout the state, are creations of the state legislature, and so we have the ability, authority and obligation to make sure the people we represent are safe to the best of our ability,” Barfoot said.
He praised the Metro Area Crime Suppression unit (MACS) for helping lower crime in Montgomery, but says it’s not a long-term fix. MACS is made up of various agencies who pitch in to help patrol Montgomery and make arrests.
“The state taxpayers from other areas of the state are probably not going to, as far as their representatives and senators, not going to want to continue to fund something that is specifically for a certain area,” he said.
The bill passed the County and Municipal Government Committee earlier this week. Barfoot expects it to come up for debate on the Senate floor next week.
Source: The NY Times:
"And by the way, there’s no such thing as a “Congressional Medal of Honor,” as Trump kept calling it. It’s just the Medal of Honor. The fact that the commander in chief doesn’t know this was embarrassing. And telling.
“The Trump administration is closer to a major war in the Middle East than most Americans realize. It could begin very soon.” America has undertaken the largest air power buildup in the region since the Iraq war. Outlets including The New York Times have reported that the military has given Trump the option to strike as soon as this weekend.
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In January 2026, the U.S. government approved the potential sale of American-made missiles to Denmark to strengthen its defensive capabilities in and around Greenland. On its face, the transaction looked routine: a NATO ally purchasing weapons through the Foreign Military Sales program to improve readiness and interoperability.
The surrounding political context, however, made the deal unintentionally comic. The same U.S. administration approving the sale had spent months publicly floating the idea that the United States should acquire Greenland itself.
FULL STORY is HERE.
